


The Family Soul

by Atheend (emda)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: EXO Secret Santa 2015, M/M, PG-13, circus AU, power au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-21 23:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8265127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emda/pseuds/Atheend
Summary: A powerful telekinetic is suddenly very interested in Jongin’s circus and his newfound tight knitted friends. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants but Jongin refuses let it be taken from him so easily.





	

**Author's Note:**

> First a big thank you to Haydn! Without her beta reading and editing powers I wouldn’t have written this fiction. I’m very grateful and fortunate to have her help! To Miuyi: I hope you like it, the prompt was fantastic!!! 
> 
> Btw, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for SNCJ Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2016. I had a lot of fun writing this story last year & I really recommend writers in exo fandom to participate. Here is the link: http://sncj-santa.livejournal.com/109523.html
> 
> Pinterest Board from when I was writing it: https://www.pinterest.com/emdiazandu/exchange-fiction-2015/

The spotlight shines on him as he stands steadily in the middle of the tightrope. Jongin starts his act with a vertical split, maintaining his balance with spread out arms. 

As he lowers his leg, the music kicks in. He takes sure steps forward until he reaches a little platform, where his props are. Jongin grabs a rope and makes his way to the center again. He takes the ends of the rope, one in each hand, and in cue with the music, starts jumping rope.

Jongin can hear the awe and applause from the crowd, but from his vantage point high above the ground, the sound is muffled by the music and the rapid beating of his heart. After he’s done with the rope, he lets gravity do its job and lets the rope go. He carefully walks backwards until he reaches another little platform. There, he grabs a unicycle and a long balancing bar and sets to cycle across the tightrope. 

Halfway through, he cycles back and forth as he tries to gather enough momentum to push his body upwards. He reaches the platform and waves, much to the crowd’s amazement.

A voice comes out of the speakers. “Now, we’re going to need members of the audience to cooperate with us and reach out with your hands towards Kai. Palms down, fingers straight, pointing at him. That’s it, beautiful.” 

“Keep that up, but we also need everyone to do just one more thing,” says the voice. “The next act Kai performs will need the energy from everyone, and to do that, you’ll need to be dead silent, and focus all of the energy you can muster in his direction. If even one person doesn’t do this,” the voice pauses dramatically for effect, before they continue, “Kai will fall.” The spotlight leaves Jongin for a moment and shines on the deserted floor. The audience, ever receptive, gasps. 

“As you can all see, Kai doesn’t have a safety net. So _please_ give it your all so he can safely reach the other platform.” The entire arena turns silent, their eyes never leaving Jongin’s who is defying gravity again and again.

Jongin crouches down, putting his hands flat and firm on the platform floor. He slowly-- with a precision honed by years of practice--pushes his body up until he’s doing a handstand. An appreciative murmur spreads throughout the crowd below but it is followed quickly by urgent shushes. Jongin smirks at their reaction.

Jongin still doing the handstand as he slowly reaches the center. He does an upside down air split. Jongin straighten his legs, back at his handstand position. He bends his knees towards his stomach, visible strain on his arms. 

Jongin does another split to accommodate his arms in front of his chest and to easily rest his extended legs on the tightrope. Once he is securely on the rope, he flourished his arms as a sign of success. 

He lets his legs dangle before he lets his body fall, with the rope still secure in his hands. He swings a couple of times but, Jongin miscalculates the force he use to push his body up and loses his grip. His attempt at re-grabbing the rope fails, his reaction seemingly made slow from the strain of keeping his balance, and he hears panicked shouting as his body plunges to the ground. He’s a few meters away from the hard ground when the arena suddenly goes completely dark, and Jongin disappears into the darkness.

The arena erupts with noise and the panicked shouting from earlier devolves into genuinely terrified screams. The commotion dies down a notch when the spotlight appears and starts scanning the ground, but the crowd is still nervous, tense, as they dread the worst.

Backstage, Jongin has his feet firmly planted on the ground, in one piece, save for his hair which has fallen out of the neatly slicked-back style he had it in. The smell of sulphur lingers around him. In the background, he hears his boss cough, fussing the whole time--”Jesus, Jongin, years of that and you still manage to shock me.”

“Sorry, Jongdae,” Jongin says. He counts to twenty and his eyes follow the spotlight, waiting for his signal--a five second pause--before he distractedly says, “That’s my cue, gotta run.”

“You mean--” 

Whatever pun Jongdae is about to say gets cut off as Jongin wraps himself in shadows and teleports to the platform he was headed to, before his little feint. He fixes his hair hurriedly, a split second before the spotlight flashes on him much to the crowd’s amazement. The tense mood from earlier lifts, replaced by awe and thunderous applause. Jongin knows, from years of experience, that his act will be the topic of speculation and gossip for a few days.

This is why people come to The Exodus Circus; to be entertained, to be amazed, to escape to a place where the impossible becomes possible. Jongin smiles as he takes a deep bow, and disappears along with the spotlight.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Jongin passes by Tao and kicks him lightly at the back of his knees. Tao glares at him, but Jongin knows that it’s more for show, not a real threat.

“What do you want?” Tao asks.

“Yixing’s cleaning and preparing the cages for the animals,” Jongin responds.

“And?” Tao asks again, his words taking an impatient tone.

“ _And_ he needs help.” Jongin says.

“So go help him.” Tao says, as he turns back to the task Jongin interrupted.

“You should come and help him too,” Jongin says. “Whatever you’re doing can wait.”

Tao sighs, but he relents, quickly packing away the tools he had been using, clearing up the floor around him before wrapping an arm around Jongin’s shoulders and pulling him along towards the animal section. 

“Why would you drag me along to help when we both know you want to spend some quality alone time with Yixing?” Tao asks, as he waves at different members of the production crew. 

“He’s with Zuri and Enzi,” Jongin says simply, knowing Tao would understand.

“Ah,” Tao says. “So I’m your bait.”

Out of everyone in the performance crew, Jongin’s the only one who isn’t close with the resident feline couple. He can guess at why the pair of wild, big cats are wary of him; they can probably smell the smoke and darkness nested within him, deep inside his core. 

The rest of the animals are friendlier--wary, but friendly still--but they’re not Zuri and Enzi. The big cats are smart, clever, and protective animals, very protective over Yixing to be specific. 

Jongin often goes over to the animal section after finishing his designated chores, to see if Yixing requires help in any way, a habit he’s picked up over the years. As soon as he gets near the area, he sees Yixing play fighting with Enzi, without a care in the world, while Zuri lounges in front of them like a bodyguard. Tao snorts at his side.

Jongin’s learned from experience that if he wants to be able to help Yixing, then he’d need backup, or a distraction. He knows exactly which of the crew members the pair of felines love the most after Yixing.

When they’re a few feet away from where Yixing is, both lions turn to look at the both of them. Zuri stares at them. Jongin may be imagining it, but the stare aimed at him seems to be laced with distrust. Trust Yixing to have _lion_ bodyguards. Taking her eyes off of Jongin, Zuri gets up suddenly and starts running towards them. Jongin’s smart enough and fast enough to untangle himself from Tao, before the lioness tackles him to the ground. Tao goes down with a groan, and Jongin mumbles _‘sorry_ ’ at him quickly, before he puts a distance between them.

Enzi yawns, having been tired out from roughhousing, and looks at Jongin with half-opened eyes. He proceeds to rest his big, maned head on Yixing’s lap, pulling joyful laughter from Yixing. Jongin refrains from rolling his eyes at the lion’s possessiveness. 

Yixing looks up and waves at him, and Jongin gives him a smile in return and hopes it’s not too sappy. Jongin watches as Yixing pats Enzi’s head and ruffles his mane as he removes himself from under the heavy weight of the lion’s head. 

Yixing walks towards him then, and Jongin hopes that Yixing wouldn’t touch him, wanting to keep the knowledge of his racing heart to himself. But the world is hardly fair, and Jongin feels his face go hot anyway.

Jongin feels the feathery light touch of Yixing’s warm fingers on the inside of his wrist, where his pulse is. He sees Yixing frown a little, before touching his forehead, cheeks, and neck. 

“I’m not sick,” Jongin says. He grabs Yixing’s wrist and gently pulls them away from his neck. He smiles and hopes he’s not blushing too obviously. 

“The why does your pulse feel so irregular?” Yixing asks and Jongin realizes he’s still holding Yixing’s wrist and lets it go. He tries to ignore the questions popping inside his head. Like how would Yixing know Jongin’s pulse normally feels like? Or like why would Yixing even remember that? Jongin shakes his head, letting go of Yixing wrist and taking a step back. 

“I'm just anxious. You know Zuri, Enzi and I aren't the bestest of friends.” Jongin says, lying through his teeth. He really hopes Yixing wouldn't see it for the lie it is. 

Yixing stares at him, like he’s pondering something but before Yixing can decide whether to share his thoughts or not, Enzi pushes them further apart and starts to sniff at Jongin. Jongin stays still, waiting for Enzi to deem him worthy of Yixing’s presence. 

Enzi sneezes and glares at Jongin before storming towards Tao. Yixing bites his lip in an attempt to hold his laughter in.

Jongin turns towards Tao’s direction and finds Zuri is glaring at him. He hears a deep rumble from Zuri’s body that doesn't sound friendly to his ears. Yixing rubs his arm as Tao’s laughter interrupts Zuri’s threats towards Jongin. 

“Tao and I will keep them occupied, while you,”--Yixing presses a blue bucket, a broom, and a mop--“get to clean their cages.” Jongin couldn't hold his grimace but accepts anyway. 

While Jongin focuses on the task at hand he can see Yixing and Tao picking stuff off the floor and packing Yixing’s equipment into their respective metal boxes.The two lions are off to one side, lounging.

Jongin hops off the lion’s cage after he’s done spraying the cage clean, wiping it dry, and from the corner of his eyes he sees a tall, blond man dressed in all black looking towards them. They lock eyes for a couple of seconds before Jongin breaks it to look around him. 

_‘Who is he looking at?_ ’ Jongin wonders. Behind him, Tao and Yixing are preoccupied with getting Zuri and Enzi back into their now clean cage. 

The strange man isn’t there anymore when Jongin turns around to look. Jongin frowns and takes a couple of steps forward to find him, but he’s nowhere to be found, gone as quickly as he appeared. 

Jongin finds it strange how in the few seconds it takes for him to look around, a man manages to disappear. Jongin doesn’t think he saw a car near where the man was. 

Jongin looks again, all around, to really make sure he wasn't just imagining it. 

“Jongin,” Yixing calls out to him, smacking him lightly on the shoulders. “Hey, I’ve been calling out to you.” 

Startled, Jongin stares wide-eyed at Yixing. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You zoned out for a bit there,” Yixing says. “You must be tired, maybe that’s why your pulse was so erratic when I touched you.”

“Uh,” Jongin says. “Yeah, it’s been a long day. We should finish up here, get some shut eye.” Jongin decides to push the strange man out of his mind, wrapping an arm around Yixing and pulling him towards where Tao is cooing at the big cats in their cage. 

He spares one final glance to the spot again, but the man is still nowhere to be found.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“Where’s Baekhyun?”

“Not coming, we’re using the recordings,” Sehun says. “I call shotgun!”

“It’s just the two of us, Sehun, and you’re not riding shotgun. I’ve been driving for a day and a half while you laze around doing nothing. Junmyeon’s been doing all the work _you_ should’ve been doing.” Jongin tosses the truck keys to Sehun before he walks towards the passenger's side. “It’s your turn to drive now.” Sehun whines but he unlocks the truck anyway.

Jongin walks towards the passenger's door, but when he opens the door, it slams shut by itself. Jongin’s hair is a mess, tufts of hair sticking out everywhere. He glares at Sehun warningly, who looks way too pleased with himself, and tries to open the door again but Sehun slams it back in place with a sharp gust of wind.

Jongin huffs, giving up and teleporting straight into the truck. 

“Dick move,” Jongin mutters, as he pulls the sun visor down and tries to rearrange his hair into a more decent hairstyle. 

“Suck it up, buttercup.” Sehun turns the ignition on and the truck roars to life under them. 

“You’d know all about that wouldn’t you.” Jongin mutters, and lowers his window to stare at the passing green fields until they start blurring into each other. 

 

Once they’ve entered the city center, where there’s a sizeable weekend crowd, Jongin turns on the speakers and settles in the truck’s seat more comfortably. They drive in silence, listening to Baekhyun cheerfully promoting the circus over the speakers, letting the sweet cadence of his voice wash over them like a siren song.

They watch for a couple of minutes how Baekhyun’s powerful voice settles in the people around the main streets of the city they’re performing in this time. 

“Don’t you get distracted listening to that?” Jongin asks Sehun.

“I’ve learned to tune it out by now,” Sehun says. “But when it gets to me too much I just try to drown it out, keep the air still near my ears so the sound doesn’t get to me.” Jongin hums to let Sehun know he’s listening. “That’s why I’m the perfect guy for this job.”

Sehun has always been tasked with the promotional part the circus affairs and it’s who he’s partnered with that changes with almost every new city. Sometimes, Jongin remembers, he goes alone. This time, though, Jongin comes with him. 

He usually brings his mp3 player and his headphones to avoid listening to Baekhyun’s alluring voice, but Sehun’s doing a great job of directing the sound away from their ears. 

“You know,” Jongin starts. “You’re not exactly known for your grasp on your powers. You sure you’re not distracted?”

“Aren't you full of questions today,” Sehun says. “That’s so rude, by the way. I can handle this much.” Jongin pouts.

“Sorry,” Jongin apologizes. “I’m just trying to make conversation. You’ve been busy with new routines and you’re always spending time with Junmyeon,” He glances at Sehun. “I’m starting to think you guys are glued to each other; with how much time you spend with him.”

“Wouldn't you like to be glued to Yixing,” Sehun teases. Jongin hits him in the arm and the truck sways a little to the left.

“Dude, you’re gonna get us killed!” Sehun yells.

“ _You’re_ going to get us killed, I’m not the one driving here. Jesus, what happened to _‘I could do this much’?_ ” Jongin says. Sehun makes a face back at him. “And stop teasing me about Yixing.”

“Oh come on, you can deal with a little teasing here and there. Besides, it’s not like I'm lying.” Jongin rolls his eyes.

“I know. Pretty much everyone knows, except Yixing himself,” Jongin says

“I don’t know who’s sillier, you for thinking that or him for thinking the same thing.” Jongin looks at Sehun, his words surprising him.

“What do you mean?”

“Figure it out yourself,” Sehun says, his expression giving nothing away but amusement. “but don’t go hurting yourself or anything.”

“That’s rich, coming from you of all people,” Jongin says and pokes hard at Sehun’s face.

“Dude, don’t touch the goods,” Sehun yells and the truck swerves to the left again, earning them various honks from the cars nearby. 

Jongin settles down and leaves Sehun to do his job. After a few rounds, Sehun makes one last round around the city, before he makes his way out of the city center and into the highway. 

Jongin starts to doze off as they make the drive back, letting the familiar, comforting sounds of the engines running in the background lull him to sleep. 

When the truck suddenly jerks to a stop, Jongin jerks awake just as suddenly and he sees Sehun’s gleeful face for a split second before his tell-tale darkness surrounds him, and Jongin finds himself falling on his ass, a good few feet away from where the truck is parked.

Sehun’s bent over on his haunches, laughing his ass off. Sehun gives people a lot of shit for their--’ugly laughing faces,’ as he often claims--but his own is no better. Typical, Jongin thinks. Jongin’s tempted to shove his fist into Sehun’s mouth, open wide in an obnoxious display of mirth, but he lets Sehun have his fun. For now. 

“I can’t believe you still teleport when you get scared,” Sehun says, in between his hiccuping, now almost hysterical laughter. Jongin rolls his eyes--it’s honestly not _that_ funny, but Sehun has his quirks and that apparently includes a terrible sense of humour--and gets to his feet. 

Jongdae comes out from the tent, no doubt lured by the sound of Sehun’s laughter. He’s probably been waiting for them to come back. “What’s gotten into him?”

Jongin shrugs. “It’s just Sehun being Sehun.” He turns to smile at Jongdae, who’s watching Sehun with exasperation written all over his face. “By the way, Sehun totally had it coming.”

Jongdae’s eyes start to narrow. “What are you--”

“Jongin!” Sehun screams, amidst fading wisps of smoke, scrambling to cover himself. Jongin does his best not to laugh out loud as he thrusts Sehun’s clothes into Jongdae’s hands. 

“Gross, Sehun’s underwear,” Jongdae sighs. “Aren’t you tired of this? He’s going to retaliate, and knowing Sehun he’s just going to try and one-up you.”

“Not really,” Jongin says. “I can give as good as I get.” He turns his back to a sputtering, naked Sehun and makes his way into the nearest tent, not wanting to give him the chance to recover and counterattack.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

As the day darkens, the circus gets busier and the crowd starts trickling in. Jongin usually sits on the steps of his trailer, basking in the usual hustle and bustle of the circus nightlife. It’s part of his ritual, a ritual he never foregoes before performing, to sit quietly and take in the sounds, the chaos, around him. It is a beautiful contradiction to the darkness and the void inside him.

He takes in the far-away sounds of the excited crowd entering the circus premises, children’s voices exclaiming in wonder at the colourful sights, the merry music. He takes in the sounds of his crew members running around backstage preparing for the opening and for their own acts. 

He takes in Baekhyun’s melodious voice, a few feet away, as he goes through vocal warm-ups. Jongin lets his mind wander, with Baekhyun’s voice serving as the soundtrack, imagining all the new faces he’d be seeing in an hour or so. He could imagine the faces of surprise and fascination--having seen it in city after city--mixed with some fear for him during his act, or of him after. 

And it’s in these quiet moments that Jongin remembers why he signed up to live the circus life. It’s in other moments too, moments where he gets to impress hundreds of people with their abilities, whether it be with their acquired skills--from years of training--or the powers they’re gifted with. The joyfulness of the circus and the mysteries of the night has always been the lure that kept Jongin in this life. 

Now, after all these years, he finds himself discovering more and more reasons to stay and work harder every day, appreciating being a part of the tight-knit circus family. 

Jongin walks into the main tent to watch the opening parade and the crowd’s reaction. It’s while he’s scanning the crowd that he sees a familiar figure walking down a row of seats. Tall, blond hair. Jongin frowns a little. _‘Isn’t that the same guy he saw staring at them in the last city they were in?’_ He stares harder at the man, trying to remember. 

The sounds from the parade and the crowd fades into the background as Jongin’s focus shifts entirely onto the man. Like Jongin, he doesn’t seem to be focused on the show, but rather on the crew members, like he’s analyzing their every movement. And as if he could feel Jongin’s eyes on him, the man looks up and their eyes meet. Jongin has to fight back against the feeling of being stripped bare, on display for the powers he wields. He hates the feeling of being analyzed, as if he was a textbook problem waiting to be solved. 

As the parade reaches its climax, Jongin had to exercise almost all of his will to stay where he is, instead of confronting the man and demanding answers. At the end of the day, he’s still a paying customer. 

The parade ends, but Jongin never lets his eyes wander away from the man, even though the stranger has already stopped looking at him. Only when Yixing lays a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it hard does he look away. 

“Are you okay?” Yixing asks, earnest in his concern. Jongin’s heart melts a little. Jongin starts to feel bad for making Yixing worry, even though technically, he hasn’t done anything wrong. 

“Just people watching. You should go and get ready.” Jongin says, trying to ease Yixing’s worry. He tacks on a smile, and it seems to do the trick, since Yixing smiles at him in return, quickly appeased. He pats Jongin’s shoulder and walks away. 

Jongin doesn’t move from the spot he’s standing at until he has to start preparing for his own act. And as he’s balanced on the tightrope, high off the ground, Jongin chances a look to where he’d last seen the man, but the seat is empty. 

Jongin pulls his attention back to himself and focuses instead on the crowd’s excitement, on the shadows manifesting within him, and takes the well-practiced, routine plunge, with the crowd’s horror following him downwards.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Jongin’s having fun watching the opening parade, when he suddenly feels like he’s being watched. He slowly, casually, scans the crowd, forcing his body to maintain the laid-back posture he was in. Then, his eyes meet the unwavering stare of a familiar blond man.

The man has his hair down today, covering his forehead, casting shadows on an already dark gaze. With his hair like that, instead of making him look boyish, it makes him look intimidating, sinister even. They stare at each other for a few seconds before the man smirks at him, and turns his focus back to the parade. 

Jongin keeps staring at him as his fellow crew members pass by him to get ready for the other performances. This is the second night in a row. It’s not enough for Jongin to alert Jongdae, or worry anyone else, but the man’s reappearance nags at him, and he feels unease blooming in the back of his mind. 

It’s not like they never get returning customers in the same city, but it’s rare to have repeat customers following them from one city to another. It’s especially alarming, considering the circus never travels linearly. It’s the safest way to avoid their kind of danger. 

The realization worries him immensely, and he has a sudden urge to seek Yixing out, but Jongin decides to give it one more day before giving into the nagging worry.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

When Jongin slips into his usual spot the next day, he finds the man already seated, closer to the arena compared to the other nights. He abandons his spot and goes backstage, where he finds Jongdae joking around with Baekhyun.

“Can we talk? Later?” Jongin tells him. 

If Jongdae senses his urgency, he doesn’t let it get to him. Baekhyun hooks his chin on Jongdae’s shoulders, but he doesn’t say anything. “Yeah, sure thing. You know where to find me.” 

Jongin spends the rest of the time until his performance doing tricks and pirouettes on one of the metal tubes rigged up near the changing tent, working out his anxiety and excessive nervous energy that never does anything good for his performance. 

Someone yells at him that he’d have to start preparing in 10 minutes, so he decides to run around a little to warm up. He’s passing by the ticketing area when he hears the tell-tale ruffle of the tent’s opening flaps. Jongin turns his body towards the shadows, curious to see who’s leaving.

To his surprise, he sees the blond man again, who has his hair styled artfully to the side and back, with a side-part. He looks more like a corporate menace this way, like a young business man who’s used to always getting what he wants. 

Jongin follows him, making sure he’s unheard or unseen, and watches as the man walks out of the main gates, leaving the circus premises. He walks off to a secluded area, making sure he’s completely alone, before--to Jongin’s shocked gasp--he unleashes a massive pair of wings and flies away.

Forget later, Jongin thinks. _We’re having that conversation now._ With that final thought, Jongin teleports himself back to the tents, to where Jongdae is.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Jongin’s trying his best to hold Max down while Yixing checks for injuries, but the dog is doing his best to sabotage the whole procedure, eager to be free from Jongin’s clutches.

“So,” Yixing says, eyes still trained on Max, gentle fingers sifting through matted hair. His tone is nonchalant. “You weren’t at your usual spot last night.”

“I--” Jongin starts to say, but he stops, realizing he doesn’t actually know what to tell Yixing. He knows he could confide in Yixing-- _wants_ to confide in him--but he also knows that if his suspicions are even remotely true, then the person he should talk to first is Jongdae. 

“Well,” Jongin tries again. He hopes his little pause goes unnoticed. “I had too much energy to spare, so I decided to practice a new routine instead.” Yixing gives Jongin a knowing smile.

“You always have too much excess energy,” Yixing says. “Too much sleep too, for that matter.” Jongin chuckles at the accuracy of Yixing’s statement. 

Max must have registered Jongin’s slackened hold on him, distracted as he is by Yixing, since the dog starts whining again and redoubles his efforts to wiggle out of Jongin’s hold. “Puppy,” Jongin says, exasperated. 

“He’s hardly a puppy and you know it.”

“All dogs are puppies,” Jongin says, still struggling with Max. “Precious little bundles of joy. Forever dog babies.”

Yixing bursts out laughing at that. Jongin grins at him, proud to have caused it. “Honestly, Jongin,” He’s giggling-- _Yixing’s giggling!_ Jongin thinks delightedly--but tries to sober up. ”You’re distracting me. Hold the dog baby still, please,” Yixing says, but he bursts into laughter again when Jongin joins him.

Max, having picked up on their amusement, calms down enough for Jongin to hold him down more steadily. His tail wags slowly at Yixing’s gentle praise, pleased but clearly still in pain. Jongin’s not sure how Max even managed to hurt himself. The dog’s far from a runt and while he’s not the Alpha male either, he can hold his own, and he seems to get along well with the other dogs too. Jongin’s nervous energy these past few days probably had something to do with it, if the sudden fight between the dogs last night is any indication. Jongin frowns. He mouths _I’m sorry_ at the dog when Max looks up at him, trustingly. 

Yixing finally finds the worst of the injuries. Jongin watches as his hands hover over the spot for a few moments, watches as Max’s tail wagging gradually becomes stronger, and the excited energy returns as the dog realizes the pain is no longer there.

“There you go,” Yixing says. He scratches Max behind the ears, where the dog likes it, and bends down to nuzzle at the dog, who licks at him in gratitude. “Good dog baby.”

Jongin laughs again, amused, even as he tries really hard not to be jealous of a dog. 

But his laughter dies in his throat when Yixing turns towards him, gaze fond and warm, and Jongin is struck by the perfect way the sunlight hits Yixing’s profile, how it makes him look angelic, though that’s probably just Jongin’s cheesiness talking. Jongin’s never been more entranced, and he’s never been more grateful to Jongdae for providing them with such good weather, especially today.

The moment is broken when Jongin hears his name being called, and when he turns to look, he finds Jongdae waving him over.

“I... better go see what he wants,” Jongin says, walking away, leaving Yixing to stare after him. “I’ll catch you later, okay?”

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“What did you want to talk about?” Jongdae asks. Even to Jongin, Jongdae’s way of cutting through any bullshit is almost off-putting.

Jongin looks around them, before he says, “Not here,” grabbing Jongdae’s neck and teleporting them away. 

“Goddamnit--” Jongdae sputters. “Jongin! Why don’t you ever warn me? I’ll choke on my own spit one of these days.” Beside him, Jongin’s taking in huge breaths as well. He’s always struggled to teleport with passengers.

“Don’t be such a drama queen, and you’d have totally protested--”

“I wouldn’t have, if you had given me a good reason for it. Which this totally is not, by the way,” Jongdae says. “We have legs, we use them to walk? Ring a bell?”

“You would have, don’t even lie--” Jongin says, while Jongdae makes huffy, disagreeing noises, “--and I needed us to be out of earshot.”

“I’d appreciate you warning me next time,” Jongdae says, with the usual biting tone he uses when something doesn’t go the way he wants it to. 

“Well, we’re definitely out of earshot now,” he says, turning around with his arms spread wide to show how alone they are. “So spit it out.”

“I think we’re being followed,” Jongin says. He waits for Jongdae’s reaction. 

Jongin watches as Jongdae’s expression remain passive, face calm and betraying nothing. 

“You think?”

“Well, I saw this really tall guy with blond hair, watching the crew members packing up in the last city we were in, when I told you we had to talk? He was here for three nights in a row, and you have to admit that’s pretty weird, right?” Jongin says. “Every night he’d sit nearer and nearer to the arena and he always leaves before my act.” Jongin starts pacing in front of Jongdae, just to have something to do while he pieced his words together. 

“I thought, maybe he just really likes our shows, that’s why he keeps coming back. But he looked kinda suspicious, and it’s not just me, okay?” Jongin says. “He has that, that feel--”

Jongdae raises an eyebrow. “That _feel_?”

Jongin _tsks_ at the interruption, still pacing. “I know what I’m on about. He never actually stays until the end and, we don’t exactly make it easy for people to follow us.

“So I’ve been keeping an eye on him, and last night I followed him out of the tent and you know what I saw?” Jongin stops in front of Jongdae, grateful to have Jongdae’s full attention on him.

Jongin takes a deep breath. “He didn’t have anyone waiting for him, no car, nothing. He walked off to a secluded area,” Jongin pauses, “and he had _wings_ , Jongdae. He had these massive wings and he freakin’ flew.” 

Jongdae’s previously calm expression morphs into an alert one.

“Jongin,” Jongdae says. His tone is urgent, and Jongin can see a myriad of emotions warring through his eyes. “Do you think he’ll be here again tonight?” 

“I’m not sure, but he might?” 

“If you see him tonight, you need to point him out to me. We should head back.” Jongin nods and grabs the back of Jongdae’s neck again, transporting them back to the circus. 

Jongdae heads straight to his office when they get back. Left alone, Jongin decides to head back to trailer to maybe get some shut eye, when he bumps right into Yixing. Yixing looks like he’d been waiting for him. Jongin pastes on a smile on his face, a horribly awkward thing, and tries to sidestep Yixing, but Yixing doesn’t allow it, mirroring his movements.

“Don’t even think about it,” Yixing says. Jongin chuckles nervously, expecting this considering how well Yixing knows him. He’s tempted to just teleport out of the situation but he also feels the familiar urge to ease Yixing’s worries, so he doesn’t. 

“What’s going on, Jongin?”

Jongin takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to come up with something, anything, that he thinks will make Yixing leave him be. He doesn’t want to lie, but he wants to keep this thing between him and Jongdae until they figure out what’s really going on. Unfortunately, he’s also a horrible liar, because he just ends up staring at Yixing, like a deer in headlights. 

“I--” Jongin starts, before he thinks better of it. He pulls himself together and rests his hands on Yixing’s shoulder, giving them a small squeeze. “Well, Jongdae and I had a few things to settle between the two of us. Circus stuff. Nothing you need to be worried about.”

Jongin holds Yixing’s stare, hoping Yixing will just let it go for now. Yixing keeps it up for a while longer, before he shakes his head and moves away, dislodging Jongin’s hands.

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me,” Yixing throws over his shoulder. He’s smiling, but it’s tinged with disappointment. Jongin hates the way it makes him feel, but there’s no point in making Yixing worry now, not when he doesn’t even know what’s going on. He hopes the stranger wouldn't come tonight so they could all go back to their easy circus life, back when things are much simpler.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Jongin’s already in his usual spot before the performers are even on standby. He scans the crowd carefully, hoping he wouldn’t see the blond man, but it’s as Jongdae’s making the last call that Jongin sees one person walking through the aisles, tall as ever.

“Is he here?” is the first thing Jongdae says as he stands beside Jongin.

Jongin points towards the first row, at the very center seat, where the man is now seated. The expression on Jongdae’s face only makes him worry more.

“Is he the only one you’ve seen hanging around?” Jongdae asks. Jongin nods, still looking at Jongdae’s face. 

“Keep an eye on him.” Jongin sees the usual stern face expression in Jongdae, the one he has when he uses his powers and mean serious business. “If you see anything or anyone else who’s as suspicious, you tell me first.” Jongdae enunciates the last four words with force. Jongin knows he means him first and him only until he says otherwise. 

It’s times like these that Jongin basks in the security that comes with being under Jongdae’s lead. This are the moments that Jongin sees Jongdae’s truest nature, a person who is so intune with nature and it changes that can face everything life throws him. 

“Do you think he’ll keep following us? Are there more people like him?” Jongin hears himself asking. He sees Jongdae’s shoulders sag a little, just a tiny bit, and for the first time in a long while, Jongdae looks tired, like he spend hours in the middle of the worst storm he could come up with. 

“I could say no to both of your questions, Jongin, but I don’t want to lie to you,” Jongdae answers. 

“Will you tell me everything later?”

“When I’m absolutely sure,” Jongdae assures. “I need to be. Just, keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual. For now, though, the show must go on.” He gives Jongin a tight smile. 

Jongdae leaves him to get in place for the opening parade. Jongin feels an overwhelming need to wrap himself in his shadows and leave for a while, but he plants his feet where he is, and continues watching the man who seems to have turned his life upside down.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Jongin’s on his back in the front row seats as he watches their aerial team prepare for their latest routine. The seats are hardly comfortable, hard and plasticky as they are, but he ignores the discomfort. High above, he can see Junmyeon fussing over Sehun, who looks far too pleased by the attention, while Tao looks on indulgently at the both of them. Yixing and Jongdae enters the arena just as the trio is finishing, and when they walk past him he gets a friendly ruffling of the hair from Yixing, and Jongdae’s not-so-friendly punch in the stomach.

“Ow,” Jongin mock flinches. “That was some unwarranted hard loving, Jongdae.”

Jongdae laughs. “What? That was me being gentle. Like you would know what hard loving even is, anyway.”

“I bet Baekhyun knows, with you hard loving him every--”  
It’s Jongin’s turn to laugh, swatting weakly at Jongdae who’s hitting him again--(“Shut up, don’t even go there--”)--though gentler this time. Amidst his little scuffle, Jongin feels Yixing pulling his legs up, sitting down and letting Jongin’s legs rest on his lap.  
“Are they heavy?” Yixing shakes his head at Jongin’s question and smiles down at him.

Jongdae, who now has his attention on his phone, gives the signal to the trio above with his free hand. Jongin sees him frowning down at his phone, before he pockets it and settles in the seat next to him to watch the routine, but his attention is clearly divided, since he fishes his phone out of his pocket again.

Jongin’s attention is divided as well, in three different directions; he’s trying his best to focus on friends high above pulling stunts, stunts that aren’t for the faint-hearted, but he’s painfully aware of his legs on Yixing’s lap too, and Yixing’s fingers tapping a gentle rhythm on them. Then there’s Jongdae’s typing, his fingers tapping a more furious rhythm on his phone screen. 

“Pay attention, Jongin,” Yixing pats his thighs. Always gentle. Jongin feels himself blushing even at the innocent gesture, but he does as he’s told, ignoring Jongdae’s furious typing and his own internal freak out at the touch. 

High above, Tao is holding both of the straps in his hands before he lets go of the left strap,and twists his body towards the right arm that still holding unto a strap pushing his body into a horizontal position. Jongin then watches as Junmyeon untangles his body from the rope over the hoop he’s working with and steadily descends into the hoop until he’s sitting in it, hands secure on each side.

Jongin allows himself get lost in the gracefulness of his friends’s routine. His own routine, while difficult, isn’t as physically challenging as the aerial team’s. His power also acts as a literal safety net for him, so it isn’t as risky either.

Sehun’s wrapping the silk ribbons around and across his body, his movements the most graceful out of the three. Jongin can’t help but think of the possibilities--when he learns to wield his powers, Sehun may not have to rely on the ropes anymore. He can simply levitate and that would really be something amazing. Jongin hears Jongdae curse and he glances at him, exchanging a confused glance with Yixing before he slowly looks back at the trio. 

Now that Sehun is high enough he does a side split and propels his body forward. With the momentum from swirling his body downwards, the ribbon wrapped around his body unravels, until it’s down to where he’s tied it to himself.

“Stop texting and focus on the boys,” Yixing says to Jongdae, who dismisses him with one hand. Yixing rolls his eyes in return, turning back to the trio, but Jongin’s attention remain on Jongdae. No matter how busy things get, when he sets time aside to watch new routines for their acts, Jongdae always pays attention. Seeing Jongdae completely ignoring the routine makes Jongin think that whatever’s got him so distracted has to do with the man that’s been following them. 

He feels a sudden pressure on his legs--Yixing, hand tight around his knee--for a split second and sees a figure falling and yelling for him before his instincts take over, and he goes from lying down between Yixing and Jongdae to standing on the other side of the arena with a sweating Junmyeon in his arms. 

“You okay?” Jongin asks, as he sets Junmyeon down, keeping his arms around him in case he isn’t feeling stable. Behind them, he hears Sehun’s stumbling down clumsily to the ground, his grasp on his powers still weak and unpolished. Between the two of them, Jongin’s probably the one struggling to stay upright more. He still hasn’t gotten used to the added body weight when he teleports with another person.

“Junmyeon--” Sehun starts to say.

“I’m okay,” Junmyeon answers. He’s looking towards Sehun, though, who sags in relief. “I’m okay, really, this isn’t the first time it’s happened.” Sehun reaches out for his hand, and Junmyeon threads their fingers together. “Thanks, Jongin,” Junmyeon says. He pats Jongin on the neck briefly before he walks away, hand in hand with Sehun, to get back in place.

Jongin looks back to where he was sitting with Yixing and Jongdae. Jongdae’s eyes are still glued onto the screen of his phone. Jongin’s not complaining about Jongdae’s apparent trust in his ability to keep their crewmates safe, but flat-out ignoring Junmyeon’s fall is worrying. 

Besides, Jongdae’s face is marred by a deep frown and his shoulders are tense, slumped as if strained by a heavy weight. Jongin’s suspicions earlier might be right, after all. 

Jongin opts to walk back to his seat rather than teleport there, watching Jongdae closely the whole way. Yixing smiles up at him serenely when he gets closer, oblivious to Jongdae’s tense aura two seats away. He’s about to take a seat when Jongdae makes a sudden, jerky motion towards the sound crew, who stops the music. The trio stops in their tracks, confused. 

“I’m sorry, you guys,” Jongdae sighs. “I know I haven’t seen the whole routine, but I need to have a word with Jongin and I don’t want another accident,” Jongdae looks straight at Junmyeon, who raises an eyebrow in response, “while I talk to him.

“Get something to eat and rest for a bit. We’ll come back later to watch the rest.” Jongdae crooks his finger at Jongin, gesturing him over.

“What’s going on, Jongdae?” Yixing asks. 

Jongdae turns to him swiftly, looking at Yixing like he’s forgotten he was there with them. “Sorry, Xing. We’ll tell you when we know for sure, okay?”

“Don’t keep secrets from me, from the rest of us. Not if it’s important.”

“You know I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then what’s with all the secrecy lately?” Yixing demands. He looks at Jongin. “First Jongin, and now you?”

“Xing, please,” Jongdae pleads. “I don’t want to worry anyone needlessly when I don’t even have all the facts confirmed. I promise I’ll let you know when I do, okay?”

Yixing sighs. He’s still upset, Jongin can tell, and he doesn’t say anything as he gives them one last look before he turns his back on them to join the others. 

Jongin sighs after him. He doesn’t like upsetting Yixing, but Jongdae’s right. He ignores the urge to go after Yixing and follows Jongdae to his office. Jongdae locks the door once they enter, and he marches straight towards Jongin, thrusting his phone into Jongin’s face. 

“Have you ever seen this guy?” Jongin takes a step back to see the photo better. It’s a man--a boy?--around their age, with big, round eyes, sealing his expression in a constant state of surprise. 

“Nope, first time seeing him,” Jongin answers and immediately after another picture is shoved in his face. 

“What about this guy?” Jongdae’s voice is taking a desperate edge, and it sparks an uncomfortable feeling inside Jongin’s chest; a mix of anxiousness and fear. 

The guy in the photo has a wide, shit-eating grin plastered on his face, and fiery red hair. Jongin whistles. “Those ears are hard to miss.” Jongdae quirks an eyebrow at that. “I would have remembered seeing him, looking like that. He stands out.” 

The next photo is that of another man; full cheeks, big, cat-like eyes. Jongin shakes his head, taking Jongdae’s phone from his grasp and putting it on the table.

“I haven’t seen any of these guys. Do they have anything to do with our mysterious patron?” 

Jongdae deflates at that. He sighs, falling into his seat. “I know who he works for. He could just be a really big fan, but a likelier explanation would be these two options: he’s either scouting gifted people, since he’s one himself. _Or_ ,” Jongdae pauses, “he’s looking for someone specific. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“He could be like the rest of us here,” Jongin says. “Why would you be worried?”

“Oh, trust me. I have every reason to be. I know who blondie works for, who they all work for, and he’s not the kind of guy you’d want to be targeted by.”

“Do you have any idea who his target might be?”

“I don’t know, Jongin,” Jongdae sighs. “That’s what’s keeping me on edge. We have plenty of people here with powerful gifts, but none of us are actually trained for combat. I wasn’t exactly planning to create an army when I set this whole thing up.”

Jongin bites his lips. He knows how true that is. Everyone has the potential to be powerful, but they’re just not quite there yet. “I don’t like the sound of all this. We’re too vulnerable.” 

“You think I do? We may have to cut this stop short, and lie low for a while,” Jongdae says. “They’re clearly not having any trouble following us around, with blondie flying and all.

“Do me a favor, Jongin, and tell the guys I’ll watch the rest of their new routine some other time, okay?” Jongin nods.

“I’ll tell everyone to be on standby, so we can be on the move quickly.”

“Thanks,” Jongdae says. “And hey, I’m sorry about Yixing.”

Jongin frowns. “I hate that he’s mad at me right now.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he’s even madder at me,” Jongdae says. “He’s not one to hold on to his anger, though, you know that.”

“Doesn’t make it less sucky,” Jongin pouts. 

“Sorry,” Jongdae says again. “Look, why don’t you be the one to break the news to him? I’ll tell the others. Yeah?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Good,” Jongdae gives him a small smile. He gestures to the door. “Unfortunately I’ve got work to do, now. Thanks again, Jongin. You know the way out.”

When he’s closed the door behind him, Jongin breathes out slowly, trying to brace himself for his conversation with Yixing. He feels exhausted suddenly, and trudges back to his trailer for a short nap, too worn out to seek Yixing out.

That can wait a few hours.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Four fire trucks rush past Jongin, sirens blaring loudly. The circus had ended two days earlier than scheduled; everything was packed and ready to go, and the crewmembers had been prepared to leave. Jongin thinks about having to teleport around the city late at night leaving posters apologizing for cancelled shows, and a promise to come back soon. He’s in his truck, waiting for the signal to drive out. Next to him, Sehun fiddles with the radio dials.

“Jongdae,” Yixing’s voice filters through their dedicated radio line. Jongin smiles to himself at the sound.

“I know what you’re thinking about, Xing, and we can’t. I’m sorry,” comes Jongdae’s stern reply. “We really need to leave. The firemen can take care of it. That’s their job.”

“You can’t be serious. Jongdae, I heard it was a big fire. We need to help them,” Yixing pleads.

(“How would he even know that?” Sehun whispers 

“He must have changed the frequency. It drives Tao crazy.”)

“Jongdae,” Yixing continues to plead. “You know those firemen won’t be able to save everybody. We have to help them. Please?”

Jongdae’s drawn out sigh crackles through the line. “Don’t make me regret this. I wasn’t kidding when I said we had to leave. Okay,”--another sigh--”okay, here’s what we’re gonna do.

“The rest of you, stay in your trucks and be on standby. We’re leaving as soon as we get this done. Soojung, I’m leaving you in charge while I do this. (“Gotcha, boss man.” “Don’t call me that.”) Jongin?”

“Yeah?” Jongin says.

“You lead the way. Junmyeon, Sehun, you guys come with me. We’ll handle the fire. The rest of you, do what you can. Everyone on the same page?”

There’s a general murmur of assent through the line. Jongin maneuvers around the other trucks to make his way into the blazing city. He stops about a few miles away from where the worst of the fire is raging, parking his truck and heading towards Jongdae’s truck, where the others have already gathered. 

“Stay out of trouble, all of you,” Jongdae warns. “I’m serious. Just because we have the best healer around doesn’t mean you guys can go around risking your lives. Like I said, Sehun, Junmyeon, and I will handle the fire.”

“What about me?” Baekhyun asks. “I’m not really, you know, hero material.”

“Well,” Jongdae hums consideringly. “You get to do what you do best. Helping people. Tao, you can join him with that. I don’t really want you messing around with your powers right now.”

“They should stay close to me,” Yixing says. “Send people my way so I can heal them.”

“Yeah, don’t get carried away though. We can’t have any more miracles happening. I mean it, Yixing. We’re laying low.”

“Why? What even is going on, Jongdae?” Junmyeon asks. “You’re obviously keeping something from us.”

Yixing makes a little noise. “I’m curious, too, but we really need to get going.”

“I was going to tell you guys earlier, okay? But then it got too hectic,” Jongdae says. “Yixing’s right, though. I’ll tell you guys later, I promise. Stay safe, guys.”

They split up. The rest rush to the site on foot, but Jongin goes back into his trailer. They’re out in the open, if he’s to teleport then he needs to do it where no one will see. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, he finds himself on the rooftop of a building, with a bird’s eye view of the fire. It’s spreading fast, faster than the firemen can put them out, and he covers his mouth against the smoke. 

It’s too hectic for him to be able to teleport people out just yet, so he keeps himself out of sight and observes the happenings below.

Yixing is hovering near the medical and police forces. He’s listening to Jongdae for once, not healing away the wounds entirely, only taking the pain away. It’ll scar, but at least it takes the agony out of it. The people visibly calm down and many start drifting towards him, unknowingly attracted to the kindness he emanates. Off to the side, Tao is directing curious onlookers away, making sure they stay behind police lines. 

Jongin looks around in search of Baekhyun and soon finds him far off to the side where the smoke hasn’t gotten to, sitting in a circle with a handful of people, most of them children. He seems to be in the middle of a story, if his animated gestures are any indication, and the children are temporarily distracted, enraptured with his story. Baekhyun can hold anybody’s attention if he wants to. 

Everyone’s accounted for, so Jongin teleports away from his current spot to a deserted alley near where he saw Jongdae standing at. “Jongdae,” he whispers.

Jongdae flinches, tsk-ing softly. “I’m gonna put a bell on you one of these days.” He walks into the alley, Junmyeon and Sehun hot at his heels. “Have you deemed anywhere safe enough for us?”

“I’m not a cat,” Jongin replies. “There’s this building with a good view of the city and the fire. I can teleport you guys to the rooftop and you can do your thing.”

“Sounds good.”

Jongin teleports Jongdae first. “Didn’t think your city scouting duties would come in so handy, Jongin.”

“Yeah, well. I try to explore the city so I know where things are,” Jongin says, before he goes back to teleport the other two. 

“Do you see that building over there?” Jongdae asks him once he’s back.

“How can anyone not? It’s on fire,” Sehun says.

“Don’t be a smartass,” Jongdae snaps. “We’ll deal with that building first. I watched it while I waited for you earlier and I know there are still people in there. Do you think you can get in there quickly and teleport them out?”

“I can only teleport with one person at a time,” Jongin says, apologetically. “You know that. You should put out the fire before I get too tired.”

“We got it, just go.”

Jongin wastes no time in teleporting to the top most floor, where he knows the fire hasn’t spread to yet. The first thing he feels is the unbearable, scorching heat surrounding him. Even with Jongdae putting out the fire, making it rain heavily over them, with Junmyeon directing the rain water to where it’s worst, the heat still overwhelms him, and his eyes start to water and he starts coughing, lungs protesting all the smoke. Sehun should be directing the smoke away, Jongin thinks, but his control is probably too weak. 

He makes his way through each floor, reminding himself to act fast, but carefully. With each unconscious person he finds, he teleports them safely out of the building, placing them near firemen to be attended to. 

The fire in the building is finally dying down, so Jongin takes a few short moments to catch his breath, looking through one of the windows. He catches sight of a figure on top one of the buildings near where he left the others. Tall and lean, with familiar red hair, tousled by the wind, and looking straight back at him. He feels a sudden sense of deja vu. 

They’re definitely being followed. 

He doesn’t have the luxury of time to nurse his thoughts any longer though so he goes back to his task. Jongin’s already teleported two families out of the building and he’s carrying a small child in his arms when he hears a loud, cracking sound over his head. His reflexes have suffered from the back to back teleporting, so when he Jongin looks up and sees a big chunk of wood falling towards him, he only has enough time to cradle the small child closer to his chest, shielding her, as he waits for the pain.

Still, no pain comes. He peeks up to where the wood was as he coughs into his free hand, but it’s gone. He finds himself covered in white dust, but he quickly notices that it’s ash, rather than dust. Glancing out the window, he sees the red-haired man is staring at an invisible point over his head, hands closed into fists, his skin looking feverish.

 _Thank you_ , he mouths. Jongin can’t tell what his gifts are, but whatever they are saved his life, so he lets it go for now. This far away, he can’t really see the man’s expression, but one thing he knows for sure: anyone who would save his life can’t be horrifically bad. That’s definitely something to tell Jongdae.

Jongin wonders, as he teleports the girl to safety, if the guys are really as bad as Jongdae claims them to be.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

The past few days have been hectic for all of them; with Jongdae’s sudden decision to haul the entire crew out of the city, Jongin’s been too busy to seek Yixing out and explain. Yixing’s been giving him the cold shoulder, and Jongin’s desperate to make Yixing forgive him.

“Hey, can we talk?” Jongin asks. “Now’s a good time, right?”

“Took you long enough,” Yixing says. “But we don’t exactly have enough time, do we? Is that why you chose now of all times?” Jongin’s only said two things and already he feels like turning back around and hightailing it out of the conversation. Jongin really doesn’t deal well with disappointment. Especially Yixing’s. He bites his lips. 

“To be fair…” he starts, trailing off at Yixing’s unamused look. “We’ve both been really busy?”

Jongin’s starting to think that Yixing’s just keeping up his staring act to really hammer in the guilt and disappointment. If he is, it’s definitely working.

“I’m sorry!” Jongin almost wails. Honestly, he had his reasons, but he can’t handle the disappointment, so he grovels. “I’m sorry I kept it secret from you. Believe me, I had my reasons and Jongdae asked me not to tell and it just...seemed like a better idea to keep it secret…?” His voice has gotten higher by the end of his explanation.

Yixing sighs, but he gives Jongin a tiny smile, which Jongin returns eagerly. “I know you had your reasons. It’s just frustrating-- I took it personally when you kept your worries to yourself instead of confiding in me. It’s stupid but you’d always been able to talk to me about your problems.”

“I’m sorry,” Jongin says miserably. 

“Let’s just forget it, okay? I was being unfair, you had your reasons.” Yixing says. “So what’s going on?”

Jongin takes a deep breath. “Remember my little talk with Jongdae?” Yixing nods. “Well, I’ll get right down to it. We’re being followed. This guy with wings has been following us for the last three weeks or so? And the guys he’s working with? They’re real bad news, Jongdae says.”

“What?” Yixing shakes his head. “But what do they want from us?”

“Well--” Jongin manages to say, before he’s interrupted by Tao’s panicked words.

“Here you are! I’ve been looking for both of you. I’m sorry to interrupt whatever this is,” Tao gestures between the two of them, “but Victoria hurt herself. I think she may have broken something.” He looks like he’s about to cry.

Yixing starts moving first. “Tell me the rest later,” he tells Jongin. “We need to get to Victoria quickly.”

The arena is engulfed in near darkness, except for the spotlight moving around. There’s anticipatory music playing which means Jongin has to work fast. Jongdae’s established this particular measure for Jongin’s benefit, providing a distraction for the audience and keeping them calm while Jongin flits into and out of the arena quickly. 

Jongin appears near the platform where Victoria is, off in his estimate by a few steps. She’s on the ground, body contorted in pain, crying out in jagged breaths while Soojung trying to calm her. “I’ve got you,” Jongin whispers, cradling her neck carefully in one hand and lifting her legs up with the other. Victoria’s pained gasps devolve into sobs. “I’ve got you, don’t worry.” 

“Is Baekhyun coming?” Soojung asks. Jongin nods at her briefly before he’s gone, reappearing where he left Yixing earlier.

Yixing’s calm face greets them and Jongin lays Victoria down, mindful of her injury. Yixing caresses her forehead before setting his hands to work, hovering over Victoria’s right shoulder. Soft light emanates from his palms. 

Jongin knows that Victoria is feeling the familiar, soothing warmth that comes with Yixing’s healing powers. He remembers how a couple of years ago, when he was trying out new tricks, he had lost his footing and fell. It hadn’t been high at all, but he must have landed wrongly, as he still remembers the blinding pain of ripping one of his foot ligaments. Yixing had healed him then, emanating the same soft light, murmuring gentle nothings. 

Jongin remembers how worried everyone was and how much Sehun had complained about his ward tattoos. 

(“If you didn't have that _thing_ ,” Sehun points to the ward tattooed on his shoulder, hidden under his tank top, glaring at where he thinks it is, “Tao could have eased your fall and prevented those broken ribs.” He huffs. “You’re such an idiot.”)

Jongin smiles fondly at the memory. “What are you smiling about?” Victoria’s voice brings him back to the present.

“Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you,” Jongin assures. “Just remembering all of the fussing I had to go through when I fell a few years ago, all the fussing you’re going to get through.”

“Well, that was actually really scary, Jongin. You, of all the gifted ones. We thought something must have gone terribly wrong, for you to not teleport yourself out of the fall like that.” Victoria says while staring at the ceiling. 

“But I turned out just fine, didn’t I?” Jongin smiles down at her. Victoria’s sitting up now and she squeezes at her shoulders. “How are you feeling now?”

Yixing answers for her. “She shouldn’t be feeling any more pain,” he says, glancing at her confirmation. She nods. “But she might still be in shock. Can you help her back to her trailer?”

“Sure thing.” Jongin slips one of his arms behind Victoria’s knees, wraps his other arm around her waist and hoists her up. He turns to Yixing before he leaves.

“Will you still be here when I get back?” 

“My act’s coming up soon,” Yixing says. “I have to go get ready. We can talk again later?”

“Later, then,” Jongin promises. 

As he watches the show later, Jongin notices an empty spot near the front even though he could have sworn that someone had been there. On a normal day, the empty seat wouldn’t even have registered but now, between the imminent threat and Victoria’s accident, Jongin’s suspecting the worst, mind coming up with different possibilities as to what might have happened. 

Now’s a good time to ask questions.

He appears before Victoria’s trailer door and knocks. Jongin’s learned from experience, when he still had family related by blood, that it isn’t the greatest idea to just pop into people’s rooms unannounced. And even though his circus family didn’t mind it much, Jongin’s seen some things he never wanted to see, the horror of it running so deep that he always knocks, now.

“Door’s unlocked.” 

Jongin peeks past the door. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“All good, thanks to Yixing,” Victoria says. She hesitates.

“Feels like there’s more to that,” Jongin says. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Victoria nods. “Make yourself comfortable.” She looks at him for a moment, before coming to a decision. “I...I don’t think what happened to me was an accident. I know people might think I’m trying to cover up my embarrassment over messing up, but I honestly think it wasn’t an accident. You don’t think I’m crazy do you?”

“No,” Jongin assures her quickly. “I don’t think it was an accident either. You’ve performed that so many times and you’ve never made a mistake.”

“Yeah,” Victoria bites her lips. “You know how in order to avoid accidents for our act, Krystal and I would insist on the correct placement of the props right down to its last millimeter every time, right?” Jongin nods.

“We rely heavily on balance and accuracy, on top of our own skills. We can’t afford any less with the props, or we’ll risk hurting ourselves. Like I did,” Victoria says, shaking her head, “I can assure you, Jongin, that I don’t lose my balance, not when it comes to my act. Soojung should have fallen too, if that was the case. Why was I the only one to have fallen?”

“Was something wrong with your prop?” Jongin asks.

“That’s what I was leading up to. If the pole had moved as I was jumping...” Victoria trails off. 

“Then it would have ruined your landing,” Jongin finishes for her. 

Victoria’s imploring gaze is focused on him as she waits for him to say more. Jongin considers telling her the whole situation, let her know it wasn’t just her denial, but if Jongdae hadn’t told the rest of the crew then maybe it would have to wait. Victoria doesn’t share the same gifts a handful of them do, even if she can bend her into into unfathomable shapes. Maybe telling her about the existence of more people like them isn't the right thing to say, at least not now, especially since those people aren’t exactly friendly. 

Jongin walks up to her and grabs her hands in between his own. “I’ll tell Jongdae about this. He’ll believe you, trust me. We’ll get to the back of this, okay?”

“Thanks, Jongin.”

“My act’s coming up. Do you need anyone to keep you company?” Jongin asks as he makes his way back to the door.

Victoria shakes her head. “I’m sure Tao will be here in a couple of minutes.” Jongin smiles and waves her goodbye.

Jongin admits to himself that he’s getting anxious and fearful, two emotions that are never a good mix for a teleporter like him. He doesn’t manage to get a moment alone with Yixing either after the show, so he goes to where the props are to investigate Victoria’s. 

He’s mindful not to touch anything, but sees no real defect to the props. Nothing obvious, anyway. He doesn’t know these props like Victoria and Soojung do. 

“What are you doing here?” Jongin turns around so quickly that he almost trips. Yixing’s lip quirks in amusement. He’s leaning over one of the main posts that holds the canvas up. 

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Jongin exclaims with a hand over his racing heart. He calms down enough to mutter, “This must be payback for all of those times I caught Jongdae unaware.” 

Yixing laughs this time. “If it is then payback’s pretty tame.” He tilts his head to the side. “What are you being so sneaky about, hm?”

“I’m not being sneaky,” Jongin says. “I’m just trying to be careful. I don’t want to accidentally damage these props.”

“Why were you even looking at those?” Yixing asks, before he changes his mind. “Actually, do you think we can continue our conversation from earlier?”

“Oh! Yeah, maybe some place quieter?” Jongin extends his hand, which Yixing takes without hesitation.

“So,” Jongin starts. “Uh, the thing they want from us.” Yixing nods at him.

“Well...Jongdae and I don’t actually know what they want exactly. We just know they’re following us and they’re not, you know, nice.”

“Maybe we’ve misunderstood their intentions. They could be like us, seeking shelter,” Yixing reasons. Jongin smiles at Yixing’s faith in people. He was always too trusting.

“That’s what I thought too, at first. But you didn’t see Jongdae’s reaction when he talked about them, Yixing,” Jongin says. “He’s worried enough to make us leave a city two days earlier than we normally do. That’s not like him.”

Jongin tries not to jerk as Yixing grabs a hold of his flailing arms, running them up and down smoothly to calm him down.

“It’s really not. Are you sure you don’t know more about them?”

“I don’t,” Jongin replies. “Jongdae didn’t tell me everything. He just told me to keep an eye out.”

Yixing simply hums to that, still absentmindedly running his hands over Jongin’s arms. Jongin kinda feels like screaming at the touch, but he ignores the urge and soldiers on.

“And I talked to Victoria earlier,” Jongin says.

“Why?” Yixing asks, his facial expression giving away his confusion.

“I just had this nagging feeling that maybe it wasn’t an accident. It’s not unlikely given the situation we’re in,” Jongin explains.

“How can you be so sure you when it clearly looks like an accident?” Yixing asks, genuinely puzzled.

“This is Victoria we’re talking about, she doesn’t make mistakes,” Yixing opens his mouth to speak, but Jongin cuts him off, “Think about it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that accidents are happening when we’re being visited by a bad bunch.” 

“That’s a good point.”

“Trust me. Victoria thinks so too. Well, she doesn’t actually know about the bad guys,” Yixing starts to interrupt him again, but Jongin continues quickly, “You’re the only one besides me and Jongdae who knows about this. Baekhyun probably knows, too, but it’s not like I know for sure. Victoria’s convinced her accident was the result of foul play, though, and I agree with her.”

“If you believe it, then I believe it,” Yixing says.

Jongin looks down at their entwined hands and smiles. “Thanks.” 

Yixing shakes his head. “You don’t need to thank me. You should know that I’ll always have your back, no matter what.” He smiles at Jongin, dimples and all. 

Jongin has to thank the discipline and willpower he’s honed over the years practicing all of his different acts on the tightrope, because right now, they’re the only things holding him back from just grabbing Yixing’s face and kissing him right in his stupid, gorgeous mouth. 

“You can, you know,” Yixing says suddenly. Jongin’s brought out of his reveries and stares at Yixing, dumbfounded.

“Wuh?”

“Whatever you’re thinking of, you can do it,” Yixing says patiently, staring straight into Jongin’s eyes. 

Jongin feels his heartbeat stop. _Does Yixing know? Has he been transparently obvious after all?_ Despite everything everyone else says, Jongin’s always devoted a lot of his energy into being as subtle--(“You’re as subtle as a brick, dude,” he hears Sehun say at the back of his head.)--as possible. Yixing’s never shown any signs of knowing about Jongin’s feelings for him, and if he did, the fact that he hasn’t said anything about it speaks of how he feels about it. For his own sake, Jongin’s going to pretend Yixing has no idea.

Yixing sighs and lets go of his hands. “We better get some rest. It’s pretty late.”

Jongin startles into action at the words. “Uh,” he says lamely. “Er, I’ll walk you to your trailer?” Jongin says, extending his hand towards Yixing, who smiles just a tiny bit before taking his hand. 

They walk silently through the circus like that, hand in hand, with Yixing leading the way. Jongin’s hyperaware of their hands, but he tries to act cool. His clammy hands probably give him away, though. Sooner than he’d like, they’re standing in front of Yixing’s trailer. 

“Uh,” Jongin says again, wracking his for brain for something less pathetic to say, anything to buy him more time with Yixing.

 _Tao, buddy, I could really do with your help right now_ , Jongin thinks to himself. 

Yixing smiles at him again as he takes the first step up the stairs. “Thanks for finally telling me. It feels good not to be out of the loop anymore.” Jongin chuckles awkwardly and lowers his head in embarrassment. Jesus christ, Jongin thinks, _get a hold of yourself._

When Jongin looks up, Yixing’s face is inches away from his own. He flinches back but Yixing grabs him, closing the distance again.

“I said you could, but you didn’t, so...” Yixing says, before his lips, his soft, warm lips touches Jongin’s own. 

Again, sooner than Jongin would’ve wanted it, Yixing releases his lips, turning around and stepping inside his trailer. 

Jongin stares at the door before he disappears on the spot.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“Whoa, you scared me,” Tao gasps when Jongin suddenly appears next to him. “Uh, wow, you don’t look so hot. What happened?”

“Nevermind that. Tao, I need you to keep an eye on Victoria,” Jongin says. His voice comes out squeaky, and his face is blotchy.

“I always have my eyes on her,” Tao says. “You sound weird. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I know,” Jongin says, ignoring Tao’s question. “But it’s kinda important that you pay extra attention to her tonight. We don’t want a repeat of yesterday’s incident, so if things aren’t looking good, I need you to stop time.”

“Wait--” Tao starts to ask, but Jongin’s already gone.

“What the hell?” Tao grumbles.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

When Jongin reaches his usual spot the next day, Tao’s already there waiting for him.

“What am I looking for here?” Tao asks and looks at Jongin.

Jongin shakes his head. “I’m not exactly sure either. Just keep your eyes on her and if something goes wrong, stop time,” he says, and focuses on the opening parade.

He stands with Tao during the entire procession of the parade and impatiently watches through the two acts preceding Victoria and Krystal’s act. Halfway through the last act, Jongin notices the blond man getting to the only empty seat in the middle row seats. Jongin sweeps the entire arena and finds Jongdae on the other side, perches on his usual MC platform, looking directly at the newcomer. 

Victoria and Krystal’s act finally begins. Jongin fixes his eyes on the man. He can see the surprise in his eyes, after he realizes Victoria’s performing again like she never suffered a serious injury. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jongdae says over the speakers. “Our beautiful contortionist, Victoria, suffered a small accident last night.” The audience hums, playing along. “Yes, I know. Thankfully, she escapes with just a few bruises and scratches, and the doctor’s given her the okay, so she’s bravely coming back to entertain and surprise everyone with her super flexible body.” Jongdae’s voice can be heard all throughout the arena. 

“Everyone, please offer Victoria a big round of applause for her dedication to all of our visitors and for her bravery,” Jongdae says. A lone spotlight settles on Victoria and the crowd cheers her on.

“Eyes on her,” Jongin says to Tao, who nod at his words. 

Victoria’s halfway through the first part of her routine when Jongin notices the man subtly crooking his index finger. Beside him, Tao gasps and just as quickly, everything comes to a complete standstill. To his surprise, the man is able to move, turning his head from side to side, bewildered at how nothing is moving at all. 

“Keep it up a little longer,” Jongin murmurs. 

The man stands up and looks around. He seems to find what he’s looking for, since he’s stumbling down the aisle and running out of the main tent. Jongin quickly rearranges Victoria and goes back to stand beside Tao.

“Give me a few seconds,” Jongin says. He teleports to where Jongdae is frozen in time, grabs him by the neck and teleports them both to the deserted main entrance of the circus. Time goes back into motion and he hears the muted surprise of the audience at Victoria’s almost fall. The man isn’t alone this time. There’s a slightly shorter man with him with an almost cherubic face. They all stare at each other before a pair of massive wings unfurls itself and they fly away. 

Jongin had seen the recognition in the shorter man’s eyes and turns to Jongdae to ask about it. He’s still staring at the spot where the man were, and Jongin can see now the surprise, disbelief, and hurt playing over his face. There’s one other emotion that Jongin can see clearly in Jongdae’s eyes; hatred. 

Whoever that guy was, Jongin’s sure that Jongdae hates him deeply. _, Jongin thinks._

_“That’s the guy you told me about?” Jongin asks. Baekhyun bursts out of the entrance then, rushing to Jongdae._

_“The very same.” Jongdae’s reply is terse. To Baekhyun, he says, “I’m okay. Hey, I’m okay. Stop your worrying.” Baekhyun has him in a tight hug, mumbling incoherent things into the crook of Jongdae’s shoulder. Jongin watches as Jongdae noses at Baekhyun’s hair softly, before giving it a kiss._

_“I-- Jongin, I need to get back in there.” He gestures to the entrance of the arena. “Can you...can you check if everyone’s safe? And that they’re really gone?”_

_“I’ll let you know if they’re still here,” Jongin promises. Jongdae nods to himself, taking a deep whiff of Baekhyun’s hair before he releases him and leads Baekhyun back into the arena with a hand on his back._

_Jongin looks at the sky and then looks around, making sure that no one is around him. He closes his eyes before doing something he usually tries very hard not to do, with how vulnerable it leaves him. There’s also the chance that he might never find his way back, but he needs to be sure._

_Jongin reaches deep inside him and pulls himself in. Ensconced in the familiar, dark planes of his shadows, Jongin can feel everyone around him. He focuses on searching for two people in particular. He pushes further outwards when he doesn’t find anything close by until he’s almost separated from his shadows. Jongin’s been trying to work on this skill for the past few years. Teleporters normally use shadows as a means of travel, not as a way to look for people. This is closer to what a telepath can do but Jongin managed to find a way._

_There’s nothing. He slowly reels himself back in, wary of losing parts of himself to the shadows. He keeps his eyes closed for a while after, remembering how the first time he did this, his eyes had turned completely black._

_He goes back into the arena with the knowledge that the rest of the crew members will be safe for another night, at least._

__

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

The peace lasts all of two days before Jongdae decides that they need to go into hiding. Shorter stops don’t seem to cut it anymore and with the news of them being followed being out in the open, everyone’s eager to do just that.

Jongin’s had a chance to talk to Yixing, properly this time, and while they did get distracted by kisses (shy, innocent pecks from Jongin, and bolder ones from Yixing), in light of the current situation, they’ve both decided that it’s best that they don’t take it any further for now. When it all blows over-- _if_ it blows over, that is--they’ll be able to explore their relationship better. The fact that his feelings are reciprocated is enough for him. 

He’s smiling to himself at the memory when Jongdae appears out of nowhere and marches him towards Sehun’s truck.

“What are you doing?” Jongin asks, struggling against Jongdae’s hold. Jongdae’s stronger than he looks, though, so Jongin gives up quickly. 

“Did I catch you by surprise?” Jongdae looks faintly amused, even as his eyebrows knit together. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“This is payback isn’t it,” Jongin grumbles. “Are we going somewhere? I thought we weren’t leaving until much later.”

“I wouldn’t call it payback,” Jongdae muses. “I still have to put a bell on you.” He sobers up. “We’re going back into the city. Baekhyun’s modified the recording so people wouldn’t come to the show tomorrow.”

“Why can’t we just hang up posters saying we cancelled? That’s faster, less conspicuous.”

“We could,” Jongdae says. “We probably will, but we need to make sure they really won’t come looking around while we get everything ready. We don’t need the extra eyes knowing our plans.”

“Makes sense.”

“I’ve already got everyone packing everything up so we’d be ready to go once we settle this,” Jongdae says. “Junmyeon’s handling that part. You ready?” Jongin nods. “Then let’s do this shit.”

The drive into the city is quiet; without Sehun to nullify Baekhyun’s voice, they compromise by wearing ear plugs. The announcement over the speakers is still audible, but the sound of it is muted. Jongdae’s focused is on his phone again. He’s probably texting his contact for details on the bad guys, their whereabouts. From the short cut off motion of his lips, Jongin’s guessing he’s been cursing a lot. Jongdae will let him know soon enough, so he ignores it and focuses on the road.

As they near the circus premises again, he sees their crewmates hard at work, how seriously they’ve taken Jongdae’s orders. By the time he parks the truck, almost everything has been safely placed in their containers. Even the main tent, the biggest, heaviest, and longest one to pull down, is already halfway down. 

His eyes find what he looks for. To one side, Junmyeon’s loading up the containers into trucks, with Yixing hot at his heels. 

He teleports to Yixing’s side, giving him a sunny smile. “Leave these to me,” Jongin gestures to the small mountain of containers. Junmyeon jumps.

“Don’t _do_ that,” Junmyeon reprimands him. “Has Jongdae gotten you a bell yet?”

“Stop it with the bell comments!”

“Then stop appearing out of nowhere like that,” Junmyeon shrugs.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin concedes. “We are in a hurry though, and I can do this faster. It’s good practice for me, anyway.” 

When Jongin finishes loading all the containers to the trucks, he sees Jongdae running towards him. 

“I need you to do something,” Jongdae says. “Can you teleport the crewmembers to someplace safe?”

“What? All of them? That’s...gonna take forever, Jongdae. It’s not like there’s only a handful of us here. We’re talking dozens of people.”

“Some are responsible for the trucks, they’ll know where to bring them, but I’m afraid I do mean all of them, Jongin. I gave everyone a photo of their destinations,” Jongdae explains. “So? Will you do it?”

“You say that like I have a choice,” Jongin groans. “I can’t be fast. I’ve never had to teleport so many people in a row before.”

“As long as you get them where they need to be,” Jongdae says. “Sorry, Jongin. This is the best way.” Jongin frowns at him before his telltale shadows start to appear, but Jongdae grabs at his arms. 

“When you come back, I’ll be the only one waiting. If I’m not here, don’t wait for me and just go. Turn off your phone. Yixing will call you in three days to tell you where to go, so you might wanna turn it on by then.” Jongin nods.

“I hope you didn’t choose some place too far. I’m not sure I can get us there after so much strain.” Jongdae waves him off.

Yixing’s waiting for him. “Hey,” Jongin smiles at him. “All done?” 

“Mostly, I just have to pack some of my own things before I’m ready to go,” Yixing says. Jongin hums a little, holding onto Yixing’s hands before he places a careful hand on Yixing’s neck and another around his waist before giving Yixing a long, soft kiss. He pulls away slowly, resting his forehead against Yixing’s. 

“Will you stay safe?”

Yixing laughs, muted into Jongin’s cheeks. “That’s my line. Don’t strain yourself too much. Promise?”

“Promise.”

Jongin spends the next few hours teleporting his crewmates to their own unique destination. He’s worn thin by the thirtieth person, forced to take a temporary break to keep his promise with Yixing. Victoria’s one of the last ones to reach their destinations, and he makes a call as he watches her walk away. 

“Hello?” a female voice greets Jongin’s ears.

“Hyoyeon, hey, it’s me. It’s been a while.”

“Don’t you ‘ _it’s been a while_ ’ me, kid,” Hyoyeon grumbles. “A while is four years and nine months. I told you to keep me updated.”

“Aw, you’ve been counting? Knew you’d miss me.”

Jongin chuckles and listens to her sighing through the phone. “What do you want?” Hyoyeon asks. As straightforward as ever. Guess catch up time’s over. 

“I need your help--”

“Of course you do.”

“Um. I have friends that might get in trouble for knowing people like us. Could you mask them for a while?” Jongin asks hesitantly.

“How long is a while?” 

“I can’t be sure. Maybe a couple of weeks to a month?” Jongin says. He hears another sigh on the other side of the phone.

“I don’t want to know,” Hyoyeon says. “But send me the addresses so I’ll have something to work with. And don’t forget to tell me who I’m masking.”

“I’ll send you the details,” Jongin assures her. “If anything happens, let me know and I’ll help.”

“Aw, kiddo, that’s so sweet of you,” Hyoyeon coos. Jongin knows she’s being sarcastic. “I can handle myself just fine, though. You better take care of yourself.” The line goes dead. 

Jongin chuckles to himself. Almost five years of no contact and Hyoyeon’s still the same. 

When he finally arrives back to the circus premises, the sun is starting to rise. The entire place is bare of equipment, trucks, and people. Only Jongdae’s lone figure stands in the center of the field. 

Jongin takes a few steps and falls on his haunches, focusing on not throwing up everywhere. Jongdae notices him and walks over. “You look like shit,” he says.

Jongin grimaces at Jongdae. “You mean like you always do?”

“Seriously? That’s your comeback?” 

Jongin just makes a face at him, too exhausted to really argue. When he finally finds enough energy to stand straight without keeling over, they’re suddenly joined by the now familiar flying man and his passenger.

“Wow, okay, nope,” Jongin says. “This is the worst timing.”

Jongdae shows Jongin a picture and before the newcomers could say a word, Jongin grabs Jongdae by the neck and takes off, leaving tendrils of smoke on his place.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“Oh thank god you’re both in one piece!”

Baekhyun’s voice is the first thing Jongin hears when they appear at the location Jongdae showed him. The second thing is the overwhelming urge to throw up and he gets a few seconds to stumble his way to a drain before he just completely loses it. He feels a hand on his back, and he knows by the warmth of the touch and the receding nausea that it’s Yixing.

Another hand pats his back briefly. “I’m glad you guys are okay,” Sehun tells him.

Jongin wipes his mouth and turns to Yixing. Yixing has his arms spread open, and Jongin takes the gesture for the invitation it is, burying his face in Yixing’s neck. 

“I’d kiss you right now, but I just threw up, so.”

“That’s okay,” Yixing says, kissing his forehead. “Jongdae and Baekhyun has that covered, I think.”

“What?” Jongin asks. He finally notices the two figures glued together behind him. “That’s-- wow, they’re gonna get arrested for public indecency.” Yixing laughs, nuzzling at the shell of Jongin’s ear before releasing him.

“Is Victoria in a safe place?” Tao asks. Jongin nods. “She’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Baekhyun looks reluctant to let Jongdae go, his grip on the latter’s t-shirt unrelenting. “Jongdae,” Jongin calls out. “Guys, I’m sorry, but I have news.”

“Sehun’s been making faces at you guys the whole time,” he adds.

Baekhyun does let Jongdae go at that, but not before he gives one last lick into Jongdae’s mouth and a bite to his lower lip. They’re both breathing heavily, lips puffy. Jongdae looks dazed.

“What,” he tries. Jongdae clears his throat. “What news?” 

“I made a call to a friend earlier. I have a friend who can disturb reality, so I asked her to make some mirror realities of those places without the people I just left there. She said yes and if anything happens, she’d let me know.”

“You have those kind of connections?” Sehun asks.

“Who do you think taught me about charms and tattoos to ward myself from time and reality controllers?”

“Why don’t I know about her?” Sehun pouts. Junmyeon, who has been silent the whole time, speaks up. 

“I want to know what exactly is going on.” 

Everyone turns to Jongdae. He motions to everyone to settle down on the grass. 

“The guy who’s after us is called Luhan. We’ve crossed paths before this,” Jongdae says. “According to my sources, he’s been looking around for healers, people like Yixing. He’s strong, a powerful telekinetic. He can make you do what he wants.”

“Like a telepath?” Yixing interrupts.

“Not quite. He uses his powers to threaten you, once he’s found a way to blackmail you. He won’t leave you with a choice, no way out of his offer. It’s a mercy, really, that he can’t move people’s will.”

“Well, it’s not the first time I’m being sought after for my abilities,” Yixing huffs.

“I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time any of us are being sought after for what we can do,” Tao says, his face serious. 

“But how you did you know he’d do anything to make you agree to his offer?” Jongin asks Jongdae.

Jongdae sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “I speak from experience. Like I said, we’re crossed paths before. He’s the reason why I decided to start the circus and also the reason why I’ve got connections with the agency that watches over people like us.”

“Wait,” Tao says. “Those people exist? How come I’ve never even heard of them before this?” The unspoken _why didn’t they help me before_ hangs over his words.

“I don’t know, Tao,” Jongdae says. “I’m sorry. But Luhan didn't find anything that he could use to sway me to his side. My friend wasn’t so lucky. Luhan had a lot on him.” 

They all hum and the silence that comes after Jongdae’s words stretch into an uncomfortable level. Jongin looks at everyone’s serious and worried expressions, and the protective part of himself rears up. He’s not letting someone who thinks they can do whatever they want to others get his way. He refuses to lose his friends to Luhan, like Jongdae did. He absolutely will not lose Yixing to him.

“Listen, we...all of us, we’ve always been fighting to be the ones to control our own lives and our powers without harming people,” Jongin says. “Luhan can’t get what he wants. We need to come up with a plan.

“Besides I’m not losing anyone to him. I finally found a family, and I don’t intend to lose any of you.”

“But we’ve never done anything like this before,” Baekhyun says. “And honestly? I don’t exactly have the most threatening power between all of us.” Jongdae grabs his hand.

“You clearly underestimate what you can do with your voice,” Jongin says.

“You can lure people to their deaths,” Junmyeon says quietly. “That’s what sirens do, isn’t it?”

“And be a murderer? That won’t make me any different from this Luhan guy.”

“Look, guys, I know none of us are trained to fight and I’m fully aware of the possibility that we may have to face those who clearly are used to fighting,” Jongin says, “But we can't just sit back and watch that guy take us apart. I’ll be damn if I don’t do anything.” 

Yixing grabs Jongin’s elbow. “We’re stressed out and tired. I think it’s best if we go to sleep and decide tomorrow,” Yixing suggests. 

Everyone nods at that and they follow Jongdae who leads them to an old looking house.

“A safe house the agency provided me,” Jongdae explains. 

Later that night, long after everyone’s gone to bed, Jongin’s startled awake by an earthquake, combined with the deafening sound of an explosion and Jongdae’s scream of Baekhyun’s name. Jongin stumbles out of bed and helps Yixing up before they reach Jongdae and Baekhyun’s bedroom. 

Jongdae’s holding onto the door frame as Junmyeon pour huge tendrils of water over the massive fire that was burning everything in the room. As Junmyeon clears the fire, Jongin notices that one of the walls start to crack open. 

All of the water Junmyeon’s been pouring out freezes solid.

Through the thick wall of frozen water Jongin can see a figure he assumes to be Luhan in the middle, with the red-haired guy he saw before and a much shorter guy flanking him. Jongin recognizes all of them from the pictures Jongdae had shown him, even though he can’t put a name to any of them except Luhan. Another figure emerges from the rubble, and Jongin sees the man’s cat like eyes falling right on Jongdae.

Baekhyun is floating above Luhan, his hands around his throat like he’s choking. Jongin watches as Jongdae walks closer to the ice wall and hears the crackling sound of thunder. Luhan smiles at him and moves his index finger from side to side. Baekhyun trashes in the air with it and desperately scratches at his throat. 

Jongin holds Jongdae back before he does anything drastic and steps in front of him. 

“We know what you want,” Jongin yells. Luhan’s laugh is muffled through the ice.

“Then give me what I want,” Luhan says. “Don’t waste my time.”

“Jongdae,” he croons. Jongin rolls his eyes. Luhan’s a theatrical villain. “I have your boyfriend right here. Are you sure you want to say no to me?” 

Jongdae grits his teeth, eyes locked on Baekhyun’s trashing figure. 

“Release him and we’ll consider your offer,” Jongin says.

“But this is what I'm offering. His life for that healer of yours.” 

Baekhyun’s shaking his head frantically. Jongin feels Jongdae move from behind him, but he doesn't want to turn around and see what’s going through Jongdae’s eyes. Jongdae glances at the last guy to enter, before locking eyes with Baekhyun. 

“So you finally found something to blackmail me with,” Jongdae says to a smiling Luhan.

“You were the hardest to convince,” Luhan agrees. Jongdae scoffs at ‘convince’. “You’ve been careless, Jongdae. Years of nothing and you go around kissing the daylights out of him out in the open.”

A white van rolls behind Luhan and the door slides open by itself, and Baekhyun is thrown into it carelessly. “Well, this is clearly getting nowhere. Give me what I want or I’ll kill him.” Jongdae looks like he’s about chase after them, but Jongin holds him back.

“Don’t,” Jongin warns him. “He clearly doesn't know who he’s threatening.” 

Luhan smirks. “Just remember what I said,” are the last words they hear before he steps into the van and leaves.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

They’re all eating a late lunch in the nearest diner the next day. Jongdae’s hardly touching his food except to play with it, so Junmyeon’s taken to forcing a few bites into his mouth. The bell chimes as the door of the diner is opened, and a familiar figure walks in. Jongin taps Jongdae’s hand and points to the stranger with his chin.

Jongdae’s head fly up, eyes following the man as he makes his way slowly towards their table. 

“Xiumin,” he whispers. Jongin perks up at the name, and at Jongdae’s recognition. He puts two and two together.

“It’s been a long time,” Jongdae chokes out.

“Way too long,” Xiumin agrees.

“Baekhyun--”

“He’s fine. Luhan bruised him up a bit, but he got bored of him soon after. Chanyeol’s been looking after him.” Jongdae lets out a relieved sigh at that.

“Why are you here? Did Luhan send you?” Jongin asks. Xiumin shakes his head.

He takes a seat across Jongdae, next to Jongin. “Luhan doesn't know I'm here,” Xiumin confesses.

Jongdae tilts his head sideways. “So why _are_ you here?” 

Xiumin says nothing. He throws a long roll of paper across the table to Jongdae. 

“Those are the blueprints of the building Baekhyun is in.” Jongdae clears the table before opening the papers. 

“This could be a trap,” Sehun warns Jongdae. “Why would he help us?”

“I’m risking my life and the lives of those dear to me to help you,” Xiumin argues. 

“Last time I checked, you still work for an asshole, so as far as I’m concerned you’re an asshole, too,” Sehun says.

“Do you actually believe I’m working for him willingly?”

“Drop it, Sehun,” Jongdae says. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“I want to help,” Xiumin says. “I could tell how much he meant to you. You know no one would ever willingly work for him. We just have no choice.

“He could have destroyed you last night,” Xiumin stresses. “I’m sure you’re aware. He has a lot of destructive power on his side. The only reason he didn’t go all out is because he wants you with him. Baekhyun’s just a means to an end to him. Luhan would kill him if he thinks using Baekhyun is getting to you enough.”

“He’s got a lot of nerve, thinking I’d actually work with him after that stunt he pulled with Baekhyun,” Jongdae scoffs. 

“What makes you think choice is involved at all?”

“How tight is Luhan’s leash on you?” Tao cuts in.

Xiumin sighs. “He has too much on me already.”

Tao leans back. Jongin could see that he’s deep in thought.

“Kris is here, by the way,” Xiumin says offhandedly.

“Which one is that?” Jongin asks. Xiumin gestures out the window. Standing just a few feet away is their mysterious patron. “Doesn’t this mean you’re in trouble?”

“Luhan found out?” Sehun asks.

“No, but it means I better go before he does.” He turns to Jongdae. “Better get your lover boy rescued quick. You know how impatient Luhan is. When you guys get there, make sure pay attention. You might be the only ones who’d know how he’s able to do it.” 

“What that even mean?” Sehun asks, staring at Xiumin’s retreating back. “Jongdae?”

Jongdae shakes his head, frowning.

They finish their food in silence, the blueprints folded besides Jongdae.  
Jongin sips his juice mindlessly, deep in his thoughts. Luhan doesn’t seem to know who the healer between them is, or maybe it’s all an act. Jongdae had been near inconsolable last night and it was only the promise of rescuing Baekhyun that manages to calm him down somewhat. Jongin’s still wary of Xiumin and nothing seems to be going their way.

Jongdae speaks up, having been brought out of his little funk. He looks like a man with purpose now. 

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do…”

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“Is there a picture of the building?” Jongin asks once they step into their new safehouse.

Jongin could feel everyone's eyes on him. Jongdae nods and offers the papers to Jongin. 

Jongin spreads the papers open on the only table they have in the room. Clipped to the corner of the first page are a bunch of photos of the building itself, and its surroundings. 

“I can teleport to this alley.” Jongin points at one of the pictures. 

“I’ll check the kind of security he has,” Jongin says. “Snoop around a bit when it’s dark.”

“I don't think you should go alone,” Yixing says.

“It’s easier for me to be alone,” Jongin says. “Less strain for me.”

“We get it, but someone should be there to back you up, just in case,” Sehun comments.

Jongin gives Jongdae a look. _Back me up, Jongdae._ Jongdae sighs--he’s been doing a lot of that since this morning--and pushes his hair back.

“Jongin, go at dusk. Don’t stick around, the less time you stay out there alone the better. Just check that Baekhyun is there and alive.”

“But Jongdae!” Yixing protests 

“I know,” Jongdae says. “But if someone goes with him he’ll have to split his attention between looking around and looking out for the other person. Even though it’s risky for him, it also happens to be the safest way right now. I can't really force him to take someone with him if he doesn’t want to, anyway.” 

“I’ll be fine. Just wait here for me,” Jongin assures them. He kisses Yixing on the cheeks. 

As soon as the sun starts to go down, Jongin takes one last look at the photo before teleporting away.

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

“He’s alive,” is the first thing Jongin says when he reappears in their shared room.

“Fuck,” Sehun exclaims. “Someone put a bell on him already.”

Jongin walks straight towards Jongdae, knowing he’s the one who needs the information and the reassurance the most. “Baekhyun’s okay. He’s a little scratched up, but I didn’t see any obvious wounds,” Jongin says. Jongdae’s entire body visibly relaxes and he whispers a thank you to Jongin. 

“Did you know they didn’t have security?” Everyone looks surprised, but Jongdae nods. 

“I expected as much from Luhan,” Jongdae says. “It’s not like he has to worry much. Like Xiumin said, they’re strong.”

“So what did I miss while I was away?” Jongin asks.

“We’ve come up with a plan,” Junmyeon answers.

“Are you going to share...?” 

“If you stop asking stupid questions then we can share it,” Sehun says. 

Jongin zips his mouth and sits on the bed next to Yixing.

“I made a few calls to my government sources--yes, the government,” Jongdae says. “They told me they actually have something that can block powers, but they won’t be able to reach us on time. I don’t want Baekhyun to be in Luhan’s hands any longer than he has to.” 

“How can you be sure that they won’t try to inject that into us too?” Sehun asks.

“They’ve been trying to nail that bastard for a couple of years now. I told them they could send an agent over to help us,” Jongdae says. “So we can only hope that they won’t leave them defenseless.”

“Did they agree?” Jongin asks.

“They did.” 

“I still feel iffy about them having a way to strip us from our powers,” Sehun says.

“Well, if you know a powerful psychic that can get here in less than 36 hours, now’s the time to share it,” Jongdae huffs. 

“I know one,” Yixing murmurs. All heads turn to him. “But he’s on the other side of the continent, and Jongin can’t teleport great distances.” 

“We’ll just have to be more alert than usual,” Jongdae says.

“So what’s the plan again?” Jongin asks.

“Tao stops time and you go fetch the agent and teleport behind Luhan so he can get the injection,” Sehun answers.

“That’s way too simple,” Jongin frowns. “Could’ve sworn we were fighting a powerful telekinetic. I’m not sure he’ll be affected.”

“I told them but they wouldn’t believe me,” Tao says.

“The guy sounds like he’s really good at research, too, so it’s not really a stretch to imagine him with ward tattoos like mine.”

“You come up with something, then,” Sehun mutters.

“Jongdae can distract him,” Jongin says, getting up to pace around the room. “He’ll be at ease, hopefully, since it’ll be familiar territory for him. I need to see if his ward is a tattoo, or a necklace.”

“My money’s on a tattoo,” Sehun says. Junmyeon shushes him. 

“A necklace is too vulnerable for him,” Tao says. “Why would he risk that?”

Jongin shrugs. “Maybe he doesn’t like tattoos. Maybe he’s just really confident with his abilities? If it’s a necklace, I can just yank it off, then we can do what you guys suggested.”

“And if it’s not a necklace?” Sehun asks.

Jongin comes to a halt. “Then, I take him away.” Immediately, protests erupt in the room. Jongin holds his hands up, asking them to calm down.

“Look, it’s not ideal. But if he has it in ink then I have no choice. We’re no match for him, but I can at least buy you guys some time. The rest of you have a fighting chance to deal with the other four guys,” Jongin says.

“Why does it have to be you?” Yixing asks. He reaches out for Jongin, who takes his hands and swings them gently as he speaks.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? The only hard part is getting near him. I’m the one who can do that the quickest. He’s powerful, I’m not denying that, but I’ve got speed on _my_ side.”

Jongdae’s been silent the whole time, but he holds his fist out to Jongin. Jongin stares at it for a few seconds before tentatively bumping it. 

“Luhan may be the only threat,” he says. “Don’t forget the other guys were blackmailed into working with him. Once he’s out of the picture, we may be able to convince them to let Baekhyun go.”

He looks up to the rest of the room. “We’ll be ready. We won’t let your chance go to waste, and we’ll definitely get him back, we have to. He’s family and we’ve all experienced how much it hurts when your family leaves you behind. We won’t do that to Baekhyun.” They all nod at Jongdae’s words.

“So let’s get this show on the road.”

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

Yixing’s the last person Jongin teleports into the alley way with. He had protested a great deal when Jongin had let it slip that Yixing wasn’t part of the rescue mission. (“What if Baekhyun needs me after?” “We already know he’s fine, Yixing.” “I refuse to stay away while everyone risks their lives for each other. It’s my fault this whole thing happened, anyway.” “That’s exactly why you need to stay away!”) He had persisted so Jongin had to compromise; Yixing will stay further back with Tao, in case anything happens. When they’re all there, Jongin points to the backdoor they’ll be infiltrating from.

“Be as quiet as you can,” Jongin says. “We’re not Luhan, we’re not looking to make an entrance. Got it?” 

Jongin leads the way, running towards the side of the building with the rest hot at his heels. 

Once they’re outside the door Jongin teleports inside and opens it for them. They walk silently through the building, taking precautions whenever they reach a door or a window. 

It doesn’t take them long to find Baekhyun. He’s tied to a chair in the middle of the room, looking pale and exhausted. Jongdae tries to rush up to him, but Jongin stops him in time, as furniture starts flying past where he stood. 

“Look, Baekhyun, your friends came to visit you.” Luhan’s voice resonates around the room. If he weren’t so powerful, Jongin wouldn’t have been able to take him seriously, with his grand gestures and all. Jongin gives one last look to the photo of the place where the agent will be waiting for him, before shifting his attention onto Luhan.

Luhan is a sharp dresser, Jongin will give him that. He’s in a deep green long sleeved button down shirt and dark blue slacks. Jongin notices the two top buttons are left open. 

_Let’s hope it’s a time charm necklace._

“This is a pleasant surprise. I thought I’d have to be the one to seek you out, but it seems that I underestimated you, Jongdae,” Luhan says and suddenly, everything stops.

Luhan smirks at them. “Too bad for you guys, that doesn't work on me,” he says, amused. Jongin stays still. There might still be a chance that Luhan doesn’t know what his gift is, or his tattoo. 

“Tao,” Jongin whispers and time restarts. 

Luhan’s cronies remain silent and oddly passive, surrendering everything to Luhan himself. The shortest one holds Jongin’s gaze, before his eyes drift to Luhan’s neck and back again. Jongin takes their passive behaviour and the tip as a good indication; non-loyal followers mean Luhan would be easier to handle.

He registers Jongdae and Luhan arguing, but pays it no mind. He’s trying to remember something he knows is important, though nothing is actually coming to his mind.

_When you guys get there, make sure pay attention. You might be the only ones who’d know how he’s able to do it._

That’s it. Jongin glances at Luhan’s neck and he can see it now, just a tiny part of the charm chain. 

That’s why Xiumin told him he might be the only who who can figure out how Luhan does it. Amongst them, he’s the only one who’s actually seen a time charm necklace. The curious thing about time necklaces lies within the chain. The chain is the item that holds the spell against time stoppers, not the charm attached to the chain. 

Luhan and Jongdae’s taunting has escalated to the point where they might have to fight their way out of there and any hopes of escaping hassle free is starting to slip through. Jongin has no time, so he goes for it, signals be damned. 

In a blink of an eye, Jongin is behind Luhan and he has his hand gripped tight around the chain. He yanks it hard, shattering it into tiny pieces all over the floor.

“ _Now_!” Jongin screams.

Now, everyone--including Luhan--is frozen in time. 

“Get the agent, please,” Tao says as he pushes at Jongin lightly. 

Jongin finds himself in an expensive hotel room. 

“Jongin?” he hears a soft voice coming from his right side. 

“Ryeowook?” The man with straight brown hair nods his head. “Nice meeting you. Are you ready? We gotta go.” 

Jongin doesn't wait for a response and quickly grabs Ryeowook by the neck. He reappears next to Tao. 

Ryeowook loses his balance and Jongin quickly holds him by his arm. “Sorry, that’s motion sickness you’re feeling right now. It happens to everyone who’s just teleported for the first time,” Jongin explains. 

Once he’s sure the agent is fine, Jongin guides Ryeowook behind Luhan before he walks towards Tao. 

“How are you holding up?” Jongin asks Tao.

“I’m good,” Tao says. 

“Well, Ryeowook, the floor’s yours,” Jongin says and he watches as Ryeowook inserts the needle on Luhan’s neck and injects the liquid in. 

“You should restart time, I think,” Jongin says. Tao flicks his wrist clockwise, and everyone moves again. “Ryeowook, I hope you’re prepared to hold him. ” 

Luhan’s body give in immediately and Ryeowook catches him. Jongdae can’t seem to be able to say anything, torn between helping Ryeowook and rushing to where Baekhyun is. In the end, he chooses Baekhyun. 

“The agency will handle it from here,” Ryeowook says. “We’re still looking into everything he’s ever done, but anyone held captive is welcomed to seek shelter at the agency. We’ll have some paperwork for you, too, I’m afraid.”

“I’m not handling that,” Jongin says. “What’s gonna happen to these guys?”

“Like I said, they can seek shelter at the agency, or they’re free to go. It’s not like they’re bound to anything.”

“Right,” Jongin says. “What’s your name?”

“Kyungsoo,” the short man says. 

“Well, you’re on your own now, I guess. We came here to get our friend and to prevent Luhan from getting a hand on our healer. Helping you all came hand in hand with getting rid of Luhan,” Jongin explains. 

“I’m Chanyeol,” the red-haired man says. “You were in that building. That I set fire to. Sorry.”

“Well…” Jongin trails off. “You did save my life, so you can’t be so bad.”

“What happens to us now?”

“You heard the agent. You’re free men,” Jongdae says. “Do whatever you want. We’re done here.”

They get out on the street and black car is parked out front. Ryeowook struggles with moving the dead weight that is Luhan, but another agent steps out of the vehicle and helps Ryeowook out. 

“Do you guys need a lift?” Ryeowook asks.

“Thanks, but we got it covered,” Jongdae says and Jongin waves at him. 

Ryeowook massages the back of his neck. “Right, well...good luck, guys,” he says before getting into the backseat of the car. 

They all watch the car drive away in silence.

“I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry,” Baekhyun coughs out. Yixing’s healed him of his injuries, his throat is mostly parched from not getting enough water. 

Everyone smiles at him. 

“Alright, let’s go get you something to eat.”

{~~~oOoOo~~~}

It’s a beautiful day.

Jongin has one hand on the steering wheel and the other in Yixing’s as the latter traces words onto his palm. The circus is back in business after a two week long hiatus and Jongin couldn't be more pleased. It feels good to back in action again. When drives up to their spot for the week, he sees four familiar figures waiting for them.

He shares a glance with Yixing and sets to park his truck. When Jongin goes to the passenger’s side to where Yixing is standing, Jongdae is already walking towards them. 

“What’s wrong?” Jongin hears Jongdae asks.

“Nothing,” Kris answers. Kris doesn’t talk much. Out of the four, Chanyeol seems to be their designated speaker. Jongin huffs in amusement at the thought.

“Then why are you all here?” 

“We came to ask you if we could join the circus,” Xiumin says.

They look at each other, surprised by Xiumin’s words. 

“What do you guys think?” Jongdae asks.

“It’s you call, boss man.” Sehun shrugs.. 

Jongdae swats at Sehun. “Don’t call me that.” 

“It really is your call, Jongdae,” Yixing says.

Jongdae looks at Baekhyun who just shrugs at him. “I think it’d be cool to see acts incorporating their gifts. I don’t know about Blondie and Shorty here, though.” Shorty’s expression turns stormy and he glares at Baekhyun. Baekhyun flashes a shit-eating grin at him. “What? Having massive wings and generating earthquakes aren't exactly circus worthy acts.”

“Maybe now Zuri and Enzi will hate one of these guys and forget all about me,” Jongin jokes. 

Everyone, save for the newcomers, laugh at Jongin’s little joke.

Jongdae untangles himself from Baekhyun’s arms before extending his hand to Kris.

“Welcome to the circus life.” Jongdae shakes hands with Kris. “Now you four better get your ass moving and help everyone unpack. Junmyeon, make sure you work them hard,” Jongdae says, before he walks off to his own truck. 

“You heard the man,” Junmyeon smiles. “We’ve got a long day of unpacking ahead of us.”. 

“Be safe,” Yixing tells Jongin.

“Of course, I will,” Jongin replies. “They’re harmless, we’ll be just fine. This will be their home, too.” 

Yixing gives him a peck, but he changes his mind and kisses Jongin longer and harder. Jongin kisses him back eagerly.

“Get a room!” Sehun yells. Jongin gives Yixing one last kiss before he disappears.

“Here you go,” Jongin says, as he dumps Sehun’s clothes into Yixing’s arms. “That’ll shut him up.” 

He holds his hand out to Yixing, and with Sehun’s shrieking in the background, walks off hand in hand to explore the new city.

 

The End.


End file.
